All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was formed in 1943 to entertain crowds at home during World War II. As male baseball players were drafted into the military, many—including Chicago Cub’s owner Philip K. Wrigley–thought Major League baseball might have to be cancelled if few players remained stateside. 

Philip Wrigley inherited the Wrigley chewing gum business and ownership of the Chicago Cubs from his father William who died in 1932.  The younger Wrigley poured himself into building both the company and the team.

Even before the war, stadiums had lots of “down” time. Wrigley thought a girls league might bring added revenue to the Chicago Stadium also owned by the Wrigleys.

(This is the baseball league on which the 1992 movie, A League of Their Own was based.)

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Forming a New League

At that time, softball was the game women played competitively. There were excellent players across the country, but the rules of softball differed from baseball. To start with, the balls were larger (12 inches at that time) and women’s teams all pitched underhanded.

Wrigley saw that the play would need to be amended. He put together a nonprofit organization to evaluate and decide on changes. Softball teams had 10 players—one more than men’s baseball teams. The board decided it made more sense for the girls league to parallel the men’s teams, so the teams were established to have nine players.  

Because women were familiar with softball, the men decided to maintain the ball size and pitching style.  But the board decided that extending the length of the base paths and the pitching distance would improve the game. They also provided that women players should be permitted to lead off (stand away from the base for a faster start) and to steal bases. Those changes would add more excitement to the game.

Scouting for Players

Wrigley brought in a former Cubs player, Jim Hamilton for player procurement. Hamilton previously also served as a manager and scout for the Chicago Cubs. He reached out to his network in the U.S. and Canada, asking that the best players be sent his way. The women were going to make good money–from $45-85 per week during the season. While the employment wasn’t year-round, it certainly helped any family. (Those weekly salaries were often more than their parents were making.)

Also working with Wrigley to form the league was his advertising agent, Arthur Meyerhoff. Meyerhoff was a gifted entrepreneur and a brilliant marketer. His “Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun” slogan was key to making Wrigley’s Doublemint gum a top seller. Meyerhoff brought his intelligence and enthusiasm to promoting the league.

Keep Baseball Going

When Wrigley initially developed the idea of the girls’ league, he envisioned that there might not be any Major League baseball during the war because so many players were drafted. But the men’s teams scrounged for other players as their team members were drafted.

Many Americans had taken war-related jobs in their hometowns. With gas rationing, it was good if people had entertainment nearby. Roosevelt was quoted saying: “I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going.”

And it did.

Altering the Plan

Wrigley needed to find logical and likely cities that would enjoy the prospect of women’s baseball. Because the league would be based in Chicago near his headquarters, he approached two cities in Wisconsin: Racine and Kenosha as well as Rockford, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana. All four had stadiums—a little smaller than the ones where the Major Leagues played—and all the cities were within easy reach of Chicago.

Wrigley made a good offer to each city. He would cover half the cost of each team. The local city would be responsible for the other half of the operating costs.  

Setting Up the League

In addition to 15 players, a coach/manager, and a business manager, teams had a woman chaperone—necessary for the team to seem “proper.”  They also hired as managers and coaches, former players and managers. They knew this would heighten public interest.

A scan through local newspapers of the era has several mentions of hometown baseball heroes who were now working with the girls league. An example appeared in distant Spokane, Washington, where sports columnist Bob Johnson wrote: “Max Carey, one of the National League’s top base stealers some years ago and who performed 15 seasons in the ‘big show,’ will direct one of the six teams in the All-American Girls’ Professional League in Chicago this summer. Carey managed the Brooklyn Dodgers at one time.”

And then in a swipe guaranteed to get a chuckle from readers, Johnson added: “He ought to find more talent among his girl softballers than the Dodgers have shown this year.”

That type of publicity appeared in medium-sized newspapers across the country and added credibility to the new league.

1943: The First Season

At spring training that first year, the final rosters had not yet been set. The league still had to complete tryouts. They called seventy-five women back for a final look. Sixty women were signed and placed on teams. Some of the players chosen were only 15 years old. 

Wrigley felt that femininity was important for the players, so he contacted Helena Rubenstein. Rubenstein had a chain of beauty salons across the country, and Wrigley hired representatives from her company to teach “charm school” classes. Many of the players grew up on farms, so this was all new to them. Personal hygiene and dress code were discussed, and the women were guided on etiquette for all sorts of situations. When not playing, makeup was to be worn, and the women were given a beauty kit along with guidelines on how to use it. (The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League has an excellent website, and it includes a link to information about the charm school training.)

Uniforms

All the teams needed uniforms, so Philip Wrigley’s wife became involved. Working with Wrigley’s art designer Otis Shepard, Mrs. Wrigley also included Ann Harnett, the first player to be signed for the league. Ann served as a model for the options under consideration.

Ultimately, the new uniform was fashioned after tennis outfits and figure skating costumes of the era. Each team was assigned a color, and the girls wore one-piece tunics that sported short, flared skirts. A baseball cap, satin shorts and knee-high socks completed the outfit. (Consider sliding into a base wearing shorts and a skirt…)

First Game

The league’s opening games were on May 30, 1943, in South Bend, Indiana, where the Rockford (Illinois) Peaches played the South Bend Blue Sox. In Racine, Wisconsin, the Racine Belles played the Kenosha (Wisconsin) Comets.

The season ran from mid-May to September 1, with a total of 108 games played. The team to win the most games during the season was deemed the pennant winner.

At the conclusion of the season, the top teams competed in play-offs. The championship was settled by a 5-game series between the Kenosha Comets and the Racine Belles. The Belles were the victors, making them the first World Champions of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Successful First Season

All four of the cities that sponsored teams were glad to have done so. Attendance was strong, and the press covered the games well.

This was all a plus for the American public. Most people loved going to the ballpark to support their local teams. The great press coverage of the girls’ teams increased enthusiasm. When the stadiums filled and the fans saw how well the women played, they were happy to come again.

What’s more, Wrigley, with ad man Meyerhoff’s help, promoted the teams intelligently. In addition to stressing patriotism, the players were described as being just like the “girl next door.”

Support of the War Effort

Thoughts of war were never far from any American’s mind. Each league game opened with “The Star Spangled Banner.” While the music played, the teams marched on to the field and lined up on the first and third baselines, meeting up at home plate. What the fans saw was the formation of a ”V” for Victory at the start of each game. Most families had loved ones serving overseas, so this patriotic touch was important.

In their down time, the women visited wounded veterans at army hospitals. They often also played exhibition games where the box office take was donated to the Red Cross.

1944: The Next Season

The 1944 season got off to a good start. Spring training was held in Peru, Illinois.  Because the cities with teams were pleased with the overall experience, each agreed to cover its own team’s expenses. 

For Wrigley, this meant he had extra money to spend. He continued to hope that the women could eventually play in Major League cities. He and the league board set up a team in Milwaukee (the Chicks) and in Minneapolis (the Millerettes).  Unfortunately, the new teams failed to catch on.

As Wrigley soon saw, the initial cities with their smaller stadiums actually had an advantage. The fans sat nearer the field and could easily identify the players. In addition, the newspapers in the smaller cities loved writing about the league, and came up with their own ideas for human interest stories.

Players Featured in Newspapers

The Scrantonian Tribune ran a great story about Jean Marlowe, a 19-year-old pitcher, who played for the Springfield Sallies. The newspaper featured a photo of Marlowe in action and wrote that she had started and finished ten games and “sported a record of six victories against four defeats…”   

Audrey Wagner in Kenosha also received a lot of ink for her skills with the bat. She started out with the Kenosha Comets during the first year of league play. She was only 15 but packed with talent. By age 20, she was known as “Queen of Clout.” During the off-season, she attended college, studying pre-med.

In contrast, the newspapers in the bigger cities where the Major League teams played gave scant coverage to the women. The sports pages included game scores in the box section where other teams were listed, but there were no human interest stories about the women or the teams.

In addition, the larger stadiums were built with the seats farther away from the field.  These games lacked the intimacy of the smaller stadiums where viewers could really discern what was going on.

Wrigley Loses Interest

It was clear that the professional men’s teams were going to continue throughout the war, so Wrigley’s interest in building the girls’ teams withered. However, Arthur Meyerhoff, the advertising executive who was with Wrigley from the start of the league, offered to buy the League from Wrigley for $10,000.

Under Meyerhoff, the league expanded from six teams to ten, and stadium attendance reached an all-time high.  Meyerhoff also re-organized the league so that each franchise had a representative on the board of directors and could have a say in league decisions.

Enthusiasm Continues

In 1945, enthusiasm for the league was high. The Chicks were picked up by Grand Rapids, and the Minneapolis Millerettes went to Fort Wayne, Indiana.

 Meyerhoff was impressed by the level of play and dropped the charm school classes. This let the women focus on what they loved—playing the game.

And as the war continued, he also set up exhibition games at 13 army camps and veteran hospitals. This meant that the Girls League was seen by more people.

And despite the end of the war in August of 1945, the popularity of the league continued. That year, their attendance reached an all-time high of 450,313.

After the War

Meyerhoff continued to create ways to improve the league. He knew they needed a pipeline of players, so he established local junior leagues for girls 14 and older. Two more franchises were added in Michigan (in Peoria and Muskegon) and a small minor league was created.

The teams also traveled to different cities for spring training. This expanded their publicity, and therefore, their following. In the United States, one year they trained Pascagoula, Mississippi. Another time, training camp was moved to Opalocka, Florida.

And in 1947, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League trained in Havana, Cuba, a city where baseball was extraordinarily popular. So was the League.

As time went on, Meyerhoff listened to teams and players about rule changes. The group opted for longer infield distances, but the major change was in pitching. In 1946, the women used side-arm pitching. By 1948, the women were pitching overhand. 

Meyerhoff Sells

In 1950, the League directors voted to purchase the AAGPBL from Arthur Meyerhoff, who was moving on to other things. The new group de-centralized management, which proved to be a mistake. Enthusiasm dropped, and there was no good way to bring it back. By 1954, the board couldn’t keep it going.

Success All the Same

Ultimately over 600 women athletes were given a chance to play professional baseball. While it took Title IX in 1972 to begin to offer more opportunities for women in sports, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a start.

For more information on the league, visit the very excellent website devoted these players and the league: The AAGPBL Players Association.

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